Chapter 7

"Here," Jack handed Harper a rope, "tie this down starboard, a bowline." Harper turned and started affixing the rope to the hitch. Jack glanced up and sighed. "The other starboard," he chuckled as he motioned towards the right side of the boat.

Tucking her brown hair behind her ears Harper scowled in confusion. Her pride slightly wounded by his chuckles. "I thought… that… was port." Pointing to the other side of the boat, her confusion grew. He smiled patiently as his silver hair blew in the ocean breeze. Her shoulders slumped in defeat. "I don't know why you just can't call it what it is," she mumbled. Harper stocked over to the proper side and began tying the rope in the knot Jack had taught her the previous evening. "Left is left. Right is right. How hard is that?"

Jack peered over her shoulder as she finished the bowline perfectly. His warm arms wrapped around her small frame. "Good job." His chin rested on her shoulder as he gave her a gentle squeeze. "You're doing great. Just hang in there. Sailing takes a lot of practice. "

Harper knew he was right. She just wasn't used to being so inept at something. She turned around to face him and wrapped her arms around his waist. "Yeah, yeah. On the brightside if you need a knot tied," she smiled sarcastically. "I'm your girl." She gasped in surprise and planted her hands on his chest with voracity. "I know what will make me feel better."

"Oh? What's that?"

"A little later," her hands slid down his chest to his sides where her fingers lightly danced up and down them. "When we've left port…"

Jack's eyebrows raised, "Mm-hm…."

"You can let me drive." She chuckled lightly as his expression dropped.

"A few things, first, you're a tease." Her body shook from laughter under his. "Second, it's steer. And last, but certainly not least, not going to happen."

Harper opened her mouth to protest, but was interrupted before she could continue their banter.

"Jack McCoy."

Jack smiled at the surprise visitor. "Carter." The men stretched to shake hands. They exchanged pleasantries of how do you do and what not. The man's small, thin frame was dressed in casual weekend clothing and though she was sure he and Jack were close in age, he seemed much older to her.

"Carter, this is my friend Harper Van Meter. Harper this is Carter Newton." Knowing her short arms couldn't make the reach Harper simply smiled and waved. Carter returned with a friendly, knowing smile. "Carter and I go way back." Jack lightly touched the small of her back to usher her into the conversation. The ease with which he'd introduced her to his friend calmed any nerves she'd started to feel.

"What he means is, I know where all the bodies are buried." They all laughed easily. "It's been a while since we've seen you out here Jack. I was considering not voting for you just so you'd have some free time," then he directed his comments towards Harper, "but I thought, nah, Jack wouldn't be Jack if he wasn't trudging away in that office fighting for truth and justice, and all that other stuff."

Harper smiled up at Jack, who grinned and shuffled his feet. "You'll have to excuse Carter. He thinks he's charming."

Carter shot Jack a sideways glare before focusing his attention on Harper. "Are you two out for the weekend? Are you staying in port or do you have a destination in mind?"

Harper, unsure how to answer, looked to Jack. "Um.. I'm not sure. All I know is I'm not allowed to steer." She lightly poked Jack in the stomach. "Do you have any suggestions?"

Carter pondered. "Block Island is always nice this time of year. Lot's to see on the island itself. Good fishing off the coast, especially when it's this hot. The Blues are really biting from what I hear."

"Well OK, we'll take that under consideration, Carter. Thank you." Harper smiled, deciding she liked Carter Newton. She hadn't met many of Jack's friends, but she hoped to see more of this one.

"Well, I'd better get back. Christine will think I've fallen in somewhere." Jack reached back across the ledge to shake Carter's hand. "And Jack," Carter lowered his voice, "Chris ran into Meredith a few rows over." He glanced at Harper who'd moved a few steps away. "Just a heads up."

"It was good seeing you, Carter. Give Christine my love."

"Harper," Carter shouted after her, "it was nice to meet you."

"You too, Carter."

"Let's all have dinner soon, OK? And don't let Jack bully you," he said pointing and accusing finger at Jack. "I think you could definitely handle the helm." He winked, sealing the deal that Harper liked him.

"Thank you, Carter. Thank you very much." She smiled at Jack smugly. Her curiosity was also peaked as to who this Meredith was. She wanted to ask, but thought better of it at least just yet.

As they went about their duties to prepare to set sail Jack noticed a sly grin affixed to Harper's face. She shook her head slightly, obviously amused by her inner dialog. Her smile was enough to make the dimple on her right cheek present itself. He was a sucker for dimples ever since he was a kid. Maggie Callahan, a triple threat: dimples, freckles, and braids. No boy on the block stood a chance.

"What's so funny?"

"Oh nothing," she shrugged. Of course, the ring of her tone and widening grin suggested otherwise. Jack grunted a skeptical response. They continued to work in silence, both with questions on their mind. Sometimes Harper wished Jack pried more. She knew he wanted to know what she was thinking, but he was content not to probe despite himself. She suspected it had something to do with his own quietude. "You, New Yorkers just kill me, even after 13 years…" she decided to volunteer.

"Oh really? How's that?" He smiled with delight while never letting his attention leave the rope in his capable hands.

"Anything over mid-80's and you people think you're going to melt." She finished up and moved to his side, watching his handiwork. "You know, where I'm from it's a good day if stays below 98."

Jack chuckled. "All the more reason to stay away." Pangs of guilt hit him as soon as he said it.

"Oh really?" Flashes of anger already marred Harper's brown eyes. She moved from his side putting a couple of more feet between them.

"It was a joke, Harper." Not a complete lie, he told himself. Though the weather was the least of his worries where that topic was concerned. She shoved her hands into the pockets of her khaki chino shorts and nodded derisively. Jack sighed. The last thing he wanted was to start this trip out with a fight. "We'd better get going if we want to make it to Block Island before dark." His voice quiet, resigned to her irritation. He headed toward the helm to begin their journey.

Harper followed. She wanted to lay into him, she wanted to cry. His flippant remark, though in jest, was laced with candor and that hurt her feelings. Which in turn, pissed her off. "You know, Jack for some crazy reason I actually want you to meet my family and friends." She felt the heat flare up from her cheeks, knowing they had gone red long ago.

"Harper…."

His dismissive tone angered her even more. "Who's Meredith?" Her vision blurred with adrenaline as the words left her mouth. She knew it was childish to pick the fight, but the possibly taboo topic was too tempting. "I think it's a valid question. Carter obviously thought it was important enough to mention. Who is she? A former colleague? An ex-girlfriend? Someone you prosecuted? Who?!" She held her hands up in the air and shrugged.

Jack watched Harper's tirade quietly. She gestured flamboyantly as she used her hands to talk. He'd noticed this trait of her's early on and often wondered if she'd be able to talk if her hands were tied behind her back. The faster her words flew at him the more her voice possessed the slightest hint of her Texas drawl. He waited a few seconds after she'd finally quieted, "Are you done?"

Harper took a deep breath and felt the cool sea air on her hot cheeks. She knew she'd said enough. Amazingly Jack didn't look angry or miffed, he was just patiently waiting out her fit. He walked to her side in his quiet way, leaned against the side of the boat and took her hands in his. "I'm sorry. I know it's important to you and I do want to meet your family. I'm just not sure that this is the best time." Harper started to interject. "But I'm going to try and make it happen, OK? We'll just have to wait and see."

She'd overreacted, she knew that. She was being placated, she knew that too. She also knew that she didn't want to start the weekend off like this. Harper took a couple of steadying breaths as she pulled her hands from his and folded them across her chest, "Who's Meredith?" Her expression didn't change, her tone stayed even. She didn't really care who this Meredith was, not really. She just wanted to know that he'd tell her. After six months she could site his morning routine like the back of her hand, but the majority of his past still eluded her. His reticent nature was something she admired, but at the same time struggled to accept.

Jack sighed, wishing there was a way to avoid this, but knowing there wasn't. "She's my ex-wife."

The words stunned her. She'd expected the mystery woman was an ex just not an ex-wife. "Mrs. McCoy Number 2?" she asked. Each word, full of realization, left her mouth slowly. Though she hadn't met Ellen, the first Mrs. McCoy, she had been able to pry a bit about her out of Jack. Mainly because she was Rebecca's mother and a quasi-scandal had irrupted several weeks ago over her former household help.

Jack merely nodded. He watched Harper carefully, trying to gauge her reaction. The last thing he wanted was for her to feel any sort of jealously towards Meredith. He hoped to get through this conversation with as few words as possible. The past, regardless what part of it, has never been his favorite topic. On a normal day he'd avoid the topic of his ex-wife at any cost, but today especially. Things were on shaky ground as it were after his remark about their possibly upcoming Texas visit. How this conversation went could seal the deal on how the entire weekend went.

The color left her cheeks as a strange calm washed over Harper. She quietly thought about the chances of running into one's ex-wife at a marina in Oyster Bay. Probably greater than the possibility of running into one's ex-husband in a city of 8 million. "Did you bring her here?" She motioned ever so lightly to the boat with her small hands. "When you were married, I mean."

The corner of her mouth turned up in a slight grin that did nothing to calm the discomfort Jack felt. Again he nodded, "We used to spend a lot of weekends here." She nodded slowly as she processed the new information. There was no trace of anger or resentment in her voice, just impassivity. Not even her color offered a clue as to what she was thinking.

"With Carter? And his wife?"

"Sometimes." She nodded. Her cheeks suddenly flushed a few shades darker finally revealing some hint of emotion.

Her jealousy was irrational. She knew Jack had been married long before they ever began a relationship. She knew he'd had plenty of lovers in his past and the reputation to go with them. Oddly enough, it wasn't the idea of Jack with another woman that brought about her envy. It was the notion of him and her laughing, conversing easily with his friends that wounded her most. She suddenly felt very unimportant in the grand scheme of things.

Jack continued to watch her. She studied her fidgeting hands aimlessly. The roses in her cheeks subsided some as she continued to ponder. Without warning Harper looked at him as if she'd suddenly remembered she was in the middle of a conversation.

"How long were you and Meredith married?"

Jack reached for her hands. Thankfully, she didn't try to rebuff his gesture. They were ice cold. He pressed them together and rubbed swiftly to warm them. "Let's not do this now." He adjusted his grip their fingers interlaced. "We've got a wonderful weekend ahead of us. We should get started." His sincerity did nothing to penetrate her state. And for a moment Jack wasn't even sure she'd heard him. She stared blankly at him, unrelenting. "A little over four years."

"What happened? Why'd you divorce?"

Jack sighed and shook his head, trying to find the words. Still resistant to the conversation's topic. "I like to say that it was because I worked too much," he shrugged. "But honestly, we never should have gotten married to begin with."

"Why?" Harper asked with a furrowed brow.

"Meredith and I met as I was coming out of a very bad time in my life. A few years before I," Jack paused and swallowed hard, "I'd lost someone I was very close to and for the first time since then I was happy."

Harper stepped closer to him. Pulling one of his arms around her, she leaned into his warm body. She held his other hand in both of hers, it's size dwarfed them. Her heart ached. She knew this was difficult for him, but she needed it… they needed it.

"I was still mourning. Eventually, she figured that out and… It wasn't fair to her. By the time I began emotionally available she was so full of resentment that we could barely be in the same room together. Needless to say, the divorce was pretty acrimonious."

Harper waited a few seconds to be certain Jack was done. She studied his memory weary face. "Thank you."

He nodded. "I don't intentionally shut you out, Harper. It's just that I've been this way for a very long time." He smiled. His fingers traced the line of her jaw. His thumb and index finger tugged at her chin tenderly. "And you know what they say about old dogs."

"They're stubborn?" Harper chuckled.

"You know, young dogs can be stubborn, too." He smiled with faux skepticism.

Her smile morphed to a playful frown. "Did you just call me a dog?" Just as quickly the frown morphed back to a smile. Jack pulled her into him even more and he planted light kisses on her head. His scent enveloped her, causing the ache in her heart to swell. She tried to push the ache away. Leery of what it might portend.

"Ready to go?" She smiled and nodded. He released her from their embrace and she silently moved to a spot on the deck far from the helm. Jack studied Harper as they sailed away from the docks and though her smile was present, it wasn't quite it's normal self. His stomach knotted and the foreboding feeling he'd felt the morning after they'd first made love engulfed him. He hoped he was wrong, but he got the feeling this trip might be the beginning of the end for him and Harper.

A/N: Just wanted to say thank you to everyone for reading and commenting. It means the world to me! Unfortunately I'm not sure when I'll be able to update again. I've got some family things going on and I'm not sure I'll have the time and, most of all, energy to write for awhile. I might be wrong. Maybe it will contiue to be the calming refuge I'm sure I'm going to need in the coming weeks. Either way I'm not sure when the next update will be, but I'm not done with this story. So don't give up on me!! Thanks again, and if I could impose on you, your positive thoughts and prayers for me and mine would be greatly appreciated. Don't want to bore you with details, just going through a rough time. XXOO